By E.G. Merkel
Hey Mickey! We think you’re fine and it blows our minds that you’re turning 100!
In honor of a momentous life so far, a birthday celebration for Mickey Frankel will be held at the JOY Center, 53 High Point Road, Plantation Key on Tuesday, July 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The community is invited to come celebrate.
Nadine Thompson, active JOY Center member, instructor and Mickey’s daughter, shared some of her mother’s life story. She was born July 12, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York to immigrant parents who came to the United States from Ukraine when it was part of Russia. She was the middle of three daughters. While not a trained artist, she always sketched and painted.
After high school, Mickey worked as a secretary in Manhattan. She married Herbert “Red” Frankel on July 7, 1946. They lived and raised their three children in Brooklyn. She always drew and painted pictures for her children and was active in their school.
When Mickey and Red retired in 1988, they moved to Delray Beach. Once in the Sunshine State, she became interested in porcelain painting and joined the local chapter of the Florida Chapter of Porcelain Artists. She enjoyed this art form and had her own kiln.
Six years after Red’s passing, Mickey moved to Islamorada with her daughter and son-in-law in 2017. She has taken another path in her artistic journey and now works with watercolors and pastels. She is an active member of the Art Guild of the Purple Isles. She is also involved with the JOY Center and takes part in various activities such as yoga and crocheting. She also enjoys keeping tabs on her two grandchildren and great-grandson who live in other parts of the country.
Mickey is active and spunky. When given a lifetime membership to the art guild, she quickly informed them, with a bit of humor, that they were going “to lose money on that.”
Come celebrate Mickey on Tuesday, July 8 as she receives the birthday cards JOY is collecting. You can send her a card and special message to The JOY Center, P.O. Box 1735, Tavernier, FL 33070.
